Assessing the Spurs’ latest draft

Spurs general manager R.C. Buford had an entire language from which to choose descriptions for his latest first-round pick, UCLA forward/guard/Swiss army knife Kyle Anderson.

The first one he went with was “winner.” The second was “interesting.”

That’s high praise coming from Buford, who has helped sustain the most consistent run of success in NBA history while routinely unearthing gems, either late in the draft or via the free-agent scrap heap.

It should go without saying that it’s far, far too early to guess whether the Spurs have pulled off another heist with either Anderson, who won’t be 21 until September, or Serbian swingman Nemanja Dangubic, picked up in a swap of second-rounders to join their haul of “draft-and-stash” prospects in Europe.

What we do know about Anderson:

1. Neither the Spurs nor virtually any other observer expected him to be available at the 30th spot. Not only was he higher on their board — Buford, of course, would not say exactly where — but Anderson (6-8, 230) was picked to go higher in all 12 mock drafts I studied leading up, with an average position of around 20.

2. He’s a versatile player who would seem to fit their offensive system to a T. He shot 48.3 percent on 3-pointers while earning praise as perhaps the best passer, not only accurate but creative, in the entire draft. Should those skills translate to the NBA, surely the Spurs can figure out how to work around his weaknesses.

And they are several, with his marginal athleticism leading at least one observer to predict he’ll struggle guarding NBA point guards, shooting guards AND small forwards. (A heck of a trifecta, there.) We also can’t be sure what the Spurs will look like by the time Anderson could be ready to play a major role, what with so many key pieces — Duncan, Ginobili, Popovich, perhaps even Kawhi Leonard — who could be gone.

But, at the moment, high-IQ players who can do a little bit of everything are just what they’re looking for.

The comparison you’ve probably already heard, and will continue to hear leading up to training camp is Boris Diaw. Not only does Anderson have a comparable — not identical, but comparable — game with the passing and multi-positional utility, his 13.4 body fat percentage was among the worst among this year’s draftees.

At least two of the aforementioned mocks cited his similarity with Diaw, while another quoted an anonymous coach that described him as “a great Don Nelson player” who will need a creative coach to reach his full potential. Popovich is more demanding on defense than Nelson ever was, but he’s show elements of his former boss’ inventiveness in concocting the fluid, motion-based system in which the Spurs have thrived in recent seasons.

If Anderson can figure out how to survive on defense — and a wing span of 7-3 should help offset the plodding foot speed that earned him the nickname “Slo Mo” — the rest of his game presents intriguing possibilities.

* His shooting improved dramatically between his freshman and sophomore seasons, from 44.7 percent to 48.0 on 2-pointers and 21.1 percent to 48.3 percent on 3s.

* His rebound percentage of 15.5 in two seasons would be above average for an NBA power forward.

* His assist percentage of 28.0 in two seasons would have approached the NBA’s top 20.

Of course, Anderson did this against college competition, so there’s no guarantee it will carry over to the NBA. But, as Buford noted, the sheer breadth of skills makes for an interesting prospect. Summing everything up, this is a player who can do a lot of things well, and that kind of player could scarcely have asked for a better team to break in with than the Spurs.

“Watching the Spurs since last year’s playoffs I can tell how well they share the ball,” Anderson said on Thursday. “Everybody gets everybody involved and I think that’s one of my best attributes coming into this league. I think I can fit into the offense really well once I get to learn it.

“That’s somewhere you want to be, where it’s very business related. It’s an amazing feeling. I think I can fit into the system. I’m going to work my tail off this summer and just find my spot out there and be a great teammate.”

On to Dangubic, who joins a cast of 10 Spurs prospects who spent last season toiling in Europe.

As illustrated yesterday, the majority will never see stateside given their age or contract situations. But, at 21, Dangubic’s best years are in front of him. Two things that immediately stand out among the limited scouting material are his size, at roughly 6-8 in shoes, and the 34-inch vertical that allows him to play well above the rim.

He’s also a mediocre shooter, having converted just 28.5 percent of his shots from long range last season with Mega Vizura of the Serbian and Adriatic Leagues. Get that cleaned up, and Dangubic would appear to have solid potential as a smart role player who can contribute on both ends. Otherwise it’s a safe bet we won’t be seeing him in San Antonio any time soon, if ever.

That won’t be the case with Anderson, whom we’ll get an immediate chance with the Las Vegas summer league (July 11-21) to see whether he’ll be able to defy the odds and crack the deepest rotation in the NBA.